Pennsylvania Credit Union Uses 3VR Technology To Help Stop Fraud

May 25, 2010

3VR Security recently announced that Members 1st Federal Credit Union has successfully leveraged the 3VR P-Series SmartRecorder solution to cut investigation times in half and increase prosecution success with higher quality evidence. The combination of 3VR analytics, transaction integration, and advanced capture and storage techniques means the credit unions highly trained team can build a strong case in half the time it took them with its previous recording platform.

Members 1st is a 60-year-old member-owned full service financial institution with 40 branches located in South central Pennsylvania. The credit union is currently running 3VRs P-Series SmartRecorder in a quarter of its branches and is in the process of installing SmartRecorders in the remainder, with the goal of rolling out the 3VR platform throughout its entire infrastructure by 2011.

On average, each branch has 22 cameras, with about half the cameras running 3VR advanced video analytics covering teller lines, ATMs, exits and backdoors. Members 1st also has a number of megapixel cameras in place so 3VRs hybrid capabilities enable the credit union to use both analog and megapixel, as well as PTZ and IP cameras in its video system as needs evolve.

Leveraging the full gamut of 3VRs sophisticated search and analytics features, Members 1st has drastically cut investigation times and captured high quality, valuable evidence to facilitate speedy and successful criminal prosecution. Security personnel are able to search by the date and time of an incident, capture the face of the perpetrator, and then search for that face throughout video captured from all branches. Alerts can also be set up to notify branch security and head office personnel if a person who has been previously tagged of interest enters any location. The credit union is also using 3VRs license plate recognition feature, which means that once they have located a suspect, they can find video of that person in the parking lot, capture an image of their car and register the license plate even from a partial plate shot, drastically increasing the chances of identifying and capturing the individual.

Members 1st also plans to integrate its Symitar transaction system, Episys, to enable the credit union to directly connect video footage with specific transactions and search by transaction type, amount, teller or any other number of factors. Relevant video can be easily identified by this information, which is included on screen with the actual footage.This capability will save investigators and fraud analysts enormous amounts of time by avoiding the need to pour through footage second by second searching for a specific transaction.

Furthermore, the quality of 3VR video recordings has enabled Members 1st to supply law enforcement and prosecutors with higher quality evidence. For instance, the credit union recently stopped a scam targeting its lending department in which individuals were applying for car loans with false identifications. The perpetrators were approved for the loans using the IDs but never made payment. Using 3VRs intelligent surveillance platform, the Members 1st security team was able to locate the video footage of those transactions and pull up images of the people involved. They were then able to search across other branches for similar individuals and gather key evidence before handing the investigation over to the police.

Members 1st is also leveraging 3VRs CrimeDex online network to share the information officials collect and research suspects they are monitoring. CrimeDex has proved very useful for the credit union to track criminals activity beyond Members 1st locations. As lawbreakers rarely conduct illegal activity only within a single institution or city, this capability has proven critical to help law enforcement professionals collect the necessary evidence to build enforceable cases.

“The 3VR solution purported to do a lot of innovative things that other products had promised but ultimately failed to do. Being able to search video quickly and get sharp, clear images that we can turn directly over to law enforcement as evidence is a huge advantage,” said Chip McBreen, assistant vice president, fraud and security services, Members 1st Federal Credit Union. “Video with a clear face shot is valuable evidence. The ability to then tie that face to a car and license plate number simply seals the deal.”